1. Field of the Invention
The preferred embodiment relates to systems and methods for providing video program material to subscribers, and in particular to a method and system for providing extended program guides to subscribers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Television programs are distributed to viewers by a variety of broadcasting methods. These methods include traditional analog broadcast television (National Television Systems Committee or “NTSC” standard), the upcoming digital broadcast television (Advanced Television Systems Committee or “ATSC” standard), cable television (both analog and digital), satellite broadcasting (both analog and digital), as well as other methods. These methods allow channels of television content to be multiplexed and transmitted over a common transmission medium.
In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for video distribution systems to provide more program channels. In digital satellite systems, this may be accomplished in many ways. One way of increasing the number of available channels is to increase the compression or decrease the error correction provided in the broadcast signal of existing satellites. Another way of increasing the number of available channels is to increase the bandwidth of the downlink from the satellite to the subscribers' receivers. Unfortunately, this technique is difficult to accomplish with existing (legacy) satellites and in a way that is compatible with existing (legacy) receivers.
As a result, video distribution systems have evolved to include additional satellites to broadcast additional program material to subscribers. Typically, satellites broadcasting these enhanced services are deployed in geosynchronous orbits in orbital locations proximate to those of the legacy satellites. This allows a single antenna to receive signals from both satellites with little or no physical scanning.
Electronic program guides for television programming are known in the art. Such program guides typically include a viewer channel number that identifies the stream of television content offered by a content provider and a description of each media program associated with the channel number. Program guide information is typically transmitted along with the television content, and typically also includes schedule information for display on users' televisions. The schedule information informs users what television programs are currently on, and what television programs will be shown in the near future.
Providing electronic program guides for the additional viewer channels carried by the multiple satellite video distribution system has become problematic. Typically, each satellite used in such systems transmits program guide information describing only those viewer channels carried by the satellite, and do so at regular and frequent intervals (e.g. every 5 seconds). This allows a new subscriber to receive program guide information for the satellite they are tuned to within a short period of time after setting up and activating the receiver station. However this has its disadvantages. Most notably, in multiple-satellite video distribution systems, when the subscriber requests program guide information regarding a viewer channel broadcast by a different satellite than the currently tuned viewer channel, the subscriber can experience a delay of several seconds before the program guide information is displayed. While it is possible to simply repeat the program guide information from all satellites on a single service channel, this would either require additional downlink bandwidth or extend the period of time between program guide updates. It would also waste bandwidth by presenting unreceivable viewer channels to subscribers with legacy receivers.
Further, until recently, satellite-based video distribution systems were prohibited by regulation from transmitting local programs to subscribers within areas where those local programs were locally available by conventional broadcast means. For example, one of the network affiliates for the American Broadcasting Company in Los Angeles is KABC. These regulations prohibited satellite-based video distribution systems from re-transmitting the KABC broadcast to subscribers in the same market area serviced by the regional broadcast affiliate, KABC. These limitations, however, were eliminated by Congress through the Satellite Home Viewing Improvement Act (SHIVA) enacted on Nov. 29, 1999. Satellite-based video distribution systems can now transmit such “local content” to subscribers within the market areas serviced by the original broadcast provider.
While this capability enhances the desirability of a satellite-based video distribution system, it raises a number of difficulties. First, there are a large number of local market areas, each with a large number of channels. In Los Angeles, for example, there are seven local content providers broadcasting on very high frequencies (VHF) and dozens of local content providers broadcasting on ultra high frequencies (UHF). Providing local content to subscribers in all market areas places large demands on transmission bandwidth. The transmission of program guide information describing the local content is also problematic. With literally hundreds of local content programs, each subscriber's receiver could be overwhelmed with information about channels that it cannot or should not receive.
What is needed is a method and apparatus to integrate program guide information for media programs broadcast by a plurality of satellites, and to provide such program guide information only to media subscribers who are designated to receive the viewer channels described by the integrated program guide. What is also needed is a system and method of providing program guide information only to subscribers who are intended to receive local content programs. The preferred embodiment satisfies that need.